Bloody Honeymoon
by berryargento
Summary: AU — an obsessive vampire hunter forced to team up with a pureblood vampire for investigating an incident; will she abide by the rules of the Association or kill the vampire? UmiMaki.
1. Medea

**a/n: **Hello there everyone! It's my first time in this fandom, actually. Sorry if my English is like a crap (if you want to beta me then I'll be glad!). Anyways, this will be vampire!AU in some kind of futuristic world ... and UmiMaki. It was planned to be long one-shot but I changed my mind.

Okay enough ramblings, hope you guys will enjoy this!

**EDIT 25/02/2015: Beta edited by Lillystream, thank you very much! xD**

**disclaimer:** I own nothing~

* * *

Akihabara was the center of Tokyo's sleepless night life.

Tall streetlights shone dimly as people came and went, the far off sound of a car honking breaking through the night every so often. Aside from the random late-shift worker, making their way home, hardly anyone was to be found in the streets. No, they were all likely to be found in the plethora of drinking bars that open late into the night. One of the bars, '09', was no exception to this. Two women, dressed professionally, in all black, entered the bar briskly, with purpose. The taller of the two women brandished an ID.

_Official Hunter; Ayase Eri_.

Seeing this, many of the customers decided it would be best to clear a way for the women. As they walked deeper, making their way towards the edge of the bar, the once merry air turned agitated. The crowd died down and eyes were glued to the two women that walked past the crowd. They stopped at the counter, seeking for the bartender.

"Welcome to the 09 Vampire Bar."

A soft voice rang through the murmuring of the customers. Eri and her partner seated themselves on the available bar stools as the emerald-eyed bartender entered their sights. Eri smiled, while the woman beside her remained stoic as ever. Toujou Nozomi, her name card reflected in the light of the bar's dance floor.

"Oh, it's just Ericchi." the bartender relaxed. She quirked her eyebrow at Eri's partner. "And what is your name, miss?"

"Sonoda Umi. Please just get to the point; do you know a lowly vampire named Miyashita Coco around, or not?"

Nozomi chuckled slightly at the hunter's sharp demeanor. Eri, on the other hand, huffed slightly, signaling for Umi to calm down. They were not exactly welcome there, due to the fact that they were humans. Despite this, human hunters were feared amongst all supernatural entities. There wasn't a sane vampire who would attempt at harming an armed hunter.

Nozomi typed a few commands into an electrical panel on her right, revealing the information of the bar's visitors.

"Isn't Miyashita-san the frequent blood whore for this bar?"

"Yes, but as our guild informed us, she has been confirmed as a low type vampire." Eri answered. "And it said that she is responsible for the increase of low type vampires lately."

Low types, also known as low leveled vampires, were vampires whom had lost their sanity due to their thirst. They were known to take blood randomly, irresponsibly turning humans and putting them in the same condition as them. Unlike a bite from a pureblood vampire or mature vampire, bites that did not release their venom directly, a bite from a low type vampire was sure to turn its victim. Blood whores—people who volunteered to donate their blood for vampire to feed—were prone to be turned into low types.

"That is unfortunate," Nozomi sympathized, while turning off the screen, "but we know nothing about her, she was human the last time she came."

"... You're not hiding her, aren't you?"

Her tone was cold, however the bartender shrugged her off.

"I wouldn't do anything like that. It would mean risking a cut to my salary." Nozomi answered lightly. "That's all that I can tell you, Ericchi."

* * *

The Supernatural Hunter Association was responsible to ensure that human and supernatural entities lived in harmony. This meant that, every time a problem arose, they would be the first ones to solve it.

They had visited five bars, so far, that night, but were unable to collect any valuable information. The concern of low leveled vampires had begun to break out; it would need further attention before things escalated out of control. There were only ten vampire bars available in Akihabara, provided by three pureblood houses.

It was two in the morning by the time they decided to hold off the search until another night. The two hunters walked past a dark alleyway on their way back to the town square, sorting out the information they had collected. As Eri wrote her report on her PDA, Umi busied herself with checking on her katana.

"Do you really hate vampires that much, Umi?"

Eri's sudden question snapped her out of her trance as she slid her weapon back to its holster. "You do remember _how _and_ why_ I joined association, Eri," Umi replied in low tone. "Those _monsters_ killed my family."

It had been two years since Sonoda Umi joined the Supernatural Hunter Association, but her name was already infamous. She hadn't have many cases but her fighting ability was something to be afraid of. Ayase Eri had been her senior in vampire division. She knew that, sometimes, her underclassman's reckless nature of wanting to slay vampires was needed to be kept in check.

"Let's go back to—"

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH— AAAA—"_

The two of them quickly drew their weapons and made for the source of the bloodcurdling scream. They rounded around the town hall and dashed past every dark alley they could see.

"Umi, come here, I smell blood."

Eri directed them to the alley southwest from the town hall. They ventured silently through the alley, careful as not to make any sound. The senior hunter stopped as they finally arrived to the source.

Blood was splattered everywhere, painting the entire alley with black and red. The scent was overwhelming and metallic, invading their senses. Despite the horrendous smell, both hunters were extremely wary of the figure standing with eyes fixed on the scene.

Eri couldn't deduce anything about the figure due to the darkness of the night, but Umi stepped forward before her.

"State your sin, _vampire_."

The tip of her katana rested right in front of the figure. Yet, they remained still, not even flinching. They did not even seem concerned with avoiding the blade. Eli couldn't help but feel confused. How had Umi concluded that this random person was a vampire?

"You are mistaken, hunter," the soft voice of a woman said coolly, "I may be a vampire, and you may not believe me, but I just arrived here as well."

"Do you take me for a fool?" Umi glared, yelling. "You must be the one who killed that person!"

"Umi, calm down. You can't just make an accusation."

Umi lowered her weapon at Eri's words. The strange woman made no movement whatsoever. Eri lit up her flashlight to get a better look at the scene. The person lied on the pavement, bloodless. It would be difficult to identify the victim, Eri noted bitterly, due to the head no being attached. There were also limbs missing. The grisly sight seemed to make the smell of blood stronger than it already was. As she directed her light to the woman Umi accused seconds before, she could now make out very distinguishable features. She was very pale, her skin almost white. This only made her striking red hair even brighter. Violet eyes bored into Eri's blue. She noticed that the woman wore a white suit, resembling that of a doctor's. It was painted red in blood.

"Eri, she might be lying. We should just take her with us to the guild," Umi demanded, not once taking her eyes off of the scarlet haired woman.

"Do whatever you wish, human. I did nothing," the vampire stated apathetically, acting as though she wouldn't care even if Umi did decide to take her out.

Eri nodded, accepting Umi's decision. Her blue haired partner proceeded to cuff the hands of the woman, harshly pulling her along with them. Their destination was Akihabara Hunter Association's Guild, the Medea building.

* * *

Medea building, a five-story building that accommodated all the Hunter's needs, acted as a headquarters of sorts. Umi dragged the vampire roughly to the center of the lobby, as Eri proceeded to talk to reception.

"We want to interrogate this vampire. Are there any vacant rooms on the third floor?"

"There is one, but I think Yazawa-san is still there. I don't know if her matter is finished or not."

"Alright then," Eri glanced at her partner. "Umi, bring her to room 304; Nico is there. I'll report to vampire division first then I'll join you."

"Roger."

The blue-haired hunter then brought the silent vampire inside the enormous lift at the center of the floor. Umi pressed the "3" button as the doors slid closed. They felt the small shift as the elevator began its assent.

Umi released her grip, but her amber fixed themselves carefully at the being. A vampire, one of the very entities she hated, now stood beside her, harmless. She could swing her blade and kill her at any time, but she was bound by the rules of the Association. Behave needlessly and surely she would say hello to a demotion and kiss her Hunter's badge goodbye.

"Admit your crime already, vampire."

This only seemed to agitate her. "I said, I didn't do anything, human."

Shortly, they arrived at the third floor, ending their glaring contest. Umi dragged her right to the room Eri told her to go. The third floor of the guild was used as a place to store old records of supernatural activity in town, and also served as a makeshift ER in order to treat wounds caused by those beings. The records room was also frequently used for interrogation.

She knocked twice before turning the handle. One hunter, a ginger-haired woman who was dressed similarly to Umi, stood by the edge of the room. Another woman was seated, reading old record books.

"Sorry, but the room is occupied—oh," the ginger woman noticed them. "Nico-chan, a hunter wants to use the room to interrogate a vampire."

The person who was reading stood up and closed her book. _This must be Yazawa-san_, Umi pondered, remembering what the receptionist had mentioned to Eri.

"You must be Eli's subordinate, then?" Nico asked. "Let's just get to business. Have the vampire sit on that chair there. Rin, keep an eye on her."

Nico snapped her fingers once and the lighting of the room changed. One long table and few chairs were the only things that remained illuminated. Umi seated the vampire on the left side, and the three hunters seated themselves on the right.

"So, what sort of crime did she do?" Nico glanced at Umi.

"She killed a human mercilessly."

"I did nothing of the sort," she scoffed. "I went there after hearing the scream, since I was working nearby. When I arrived, the person there was already torn to pieces."

"You have blood in your shirt, how do you justify that?" Umi pressed.

"I checked whether that being was human or not, which it was not," she countered. "Whoever it was happened to be a vampire. There's no way they could have been a human; their complexion was too pale, there was no taste to the blood, and even the smell… there's no mistaking it."

This caused Umi's amber eyes to widen.

"Cannibalism? That's a rare case, _nya_. What do you think, Nico-chan?"

Cannibalism, that was highly unlikely. Umi still couldn't fathom what the vampire said. It wasn't the most believable thing she'd ever heard. However, the hunters beside her looked like they would take the testimony into account.

"She's lying."

"I am not, human."

"Shut your traps," Nico cut in. "Your alibi is somewhat flawless, Ms. Vampire. However, I hope you're aware that due to your position, you're the prime suspect here. I'll check your registration data and decide what to do next based on the results."

"But Yazawa-senpai—"

"No objections. I'm your senior here, just like Eri." She looked Umi in the eyes, almost daring her to challenge her. "Rin, check the files."

Rin opened her PDA and logged in through the data network using her ID and proceeded to navigate the database of vampires. As she found the data, she projected it onto the nearby wall.

Status: Pureblood Vampire

"Whoa, she's pureblood!?" Nico shot up from her chair. "This will definitely hurt your name if you happened to do any crime."

"I'm aware of that," the scarlet haired woman snapped "You don't need to remind me." She was scowling at each of them. "Look, I'm not doing anything wrong, and I'm not lying. If you want the truth just check my fangs for any traces of blood."

Umi groaned inwardly. "Fine, I'll bring you to the lab. How's that, Yazawa-senpai?"

* * *

When Eri arrived on the third floor, there were two women arguing in the hallway; one being Yazawa Nico and the other being Hoshizora Rin. And, if her memory was correct, they were assigned as hunters in the animal division.

"Huh? Where's Umi?"

"Your junior? She brought the vampire with her to the lab." Nico pointed the door at the end of hallway. "Guess what? She nailed a pureblood! Great for a newbie, huh?"

"And the vampire is from Nishikino house, _nya_!" Rin added.

Eri tilted her head to the side as her thoughts wandered. The House of Nishikino was one of three pureblood vampire families that lived in the Akihabara district. Rumors said that House of Nishikino consisted of the strongest vampire lineage of the three, and they were mostly responsible for facilitating all the vampires in the area.

'_Wait, what was that the boss said to me ...?'_

"Ah, there they are."

Umi released the vampire's handcuff and walked in front of her. Her expression was mixed with annoyance and anger. Eri could only conclude one thing from the sour look.

"I see that she's innocent, then, Umi?"

Umi nodded numbly, not bothering to say a word. She stepped back and let the vampire walk past them.

"I'm sorry for our rudeness, Nishikino-san." Eri bowed.

"I don't mind, I have been wanting to pay a visit to this place, anyway," the vampire replied.

Eri coughed into her fist. "I just have been informed by my boss that you'll be assisting us."

The blonde hunter could only sigh as she felt the amber eyes glaring at her, as well as the shocked looks Nico and Rin were giving her.

"I was ordered by the House of Association to recruit Nishikino-san in the matter of low-leveled vampire appearances," she explained briefly.

"Can we talk about this in the division office?"

* * *

"I don't trust that vampire, pureblood or not!" Umi snarled. Her amber eyes were far from calm. Eri's explanation of the mission was just too much for her. The blonde woman stated that she would be borrowed by the animal division and Umi was assigned to be the vampire's partner in solving the low-leveled vampire problems.

What seemed to be a bigger problem, however, would be getting the blue-haired woman to comply. Contrary to Umi's rage, the vampire was calm and composed. She was said to be a representative of Nishikino House, and she was there to serve the purpose of taking full responsibility of the current conflicts between vampire and human through investigating with the Association.

"This is the boss' will. We can't do anything about it," Eri stated firmly, she placed some related documents from the vampire division in front of Umi. "You must trust her from now on."

Eri then exited the room, leaving the other two in deep silence.

Umi spared a glance to the Nishikino's lavender eyes before her amber looked to her own feet. She had sworn to live her life slaying vampires. But instead of hunting her enemies, she got paired with one, urged to work together against a vampire-related problem?

Lady Luck sure did not seem to be by her side.

"Then, what should we do now?" asked the vampire. She sighed upon receiving silence. "If there is nothing left to say, I need to be getting back to my office."

"Do whatever you wish," Umi growled. "We might be 'working together' but that doesn't mean I trust you, vampire."

"My name is not 'Vampire', I'll have you know," the lady Nishikino scolded, folding her arms. "My name is Nishikino Maki."

* * *

"Eri, are you sure about this?"

Nico patted the back of the taller hunter who was busying herself by checking her own equipment in the lobby. Eri filled her pocket with silver bullets, packing along pistols as well as a few shotguns. The lobby of Medea building was not really crowded, seeing that Eri and Nico were the only ones present in the lounge. Nico had given Rin the task to escort Maki around the association.

"Actually, I don't know." Eri placed her gun in the holster. "I'm worried about Umi. I guarantee she'd be more than eager to kill that vampire, after all."

"She's pureblood, for God's sake! Strong or not, a human wouldn't be able to compete with that kind of power."

"Let's not worry about that right now," she turned to Nico. "It's about time for Werewolf Assembly. We must avoid any bloodshed or war between the species."

Nico slumped herself beside Eri, sighing tiredly. "Again? The last one was barely peaceful. Rin and I were on the verge of being killed! Being surrounded by a pack of wolves was like being in a nightmare."

"Just pay attention when full moon hits," she murmured, oceanic eyes darkening. "Hopefully this time it won't be that bad."

* * *

Umi headed back to her apartment in order to take a nap. She would read all the documents by the time the sun was up. It was 3:30 in the morning, and the day's events had been disaster upon disaster for her.

Her walls were covered in papers. Reports, newspaper clippings, and other assorted notes all gathered together, barely leaving any blank space. They included history, appearances, vampires, werewolves; anything she could find, really. It was a surprise she managed to keep it neat and tidy considering the sheer amount of information strewn across her wall.

It was the first time she had learned about a pureblood vampire family's name. House names were never leaked to the public. The only thing really known was that they were split into three big houses. These houses each had a certain "role"; ruler, observer, and judge. _The Nishikino vampire said that she would 'take the responsibility'…_ Umi rolled the idea around. She could only guess that she was from the "ruler" house.

Purebloods; they had unique characteristics that easily distinguished them from other mature vampires. They did not have trouble with daylight. They had a lessened appetite. They would survive longer under exposure to danger.

_Worst of all… it means that if I were to kill her, it would create an uproar._

She wrote the sentence using black marker.

_Let's just see how strong that vampire really is before taking action_.

* * *

A white building, recognizable as the clinic, stood tall at the corner of town hall's alleyway. The nearby bloodbath that happened at night already been cleared up. She had requested help from the Association in those regards. Maki entered her office and quickly snapped it shut, not bothering to switch on the light.

She was tired; who wouldn't be after a day of being dragged around by all those humans? She thought back to the incident. She had realized early on that it was a recent patient that had just exited the clinic who had been slaughtered. It was unclear to her whether the attacker was. The amount of blood that had been splattered around the crime scene and the victim having been sucked dry… Maki could tell that the blood splatter was just a facade to remove trace of the killer.

She tossed her white suit aside, the once vividly red blood having had dried into a dull brown. The vampire went to the glass cabinet in the back room to search for a blood pack.

"Ugh, nothing? I guess I forgot to stock up." Maki groaned. "The past patients have been using so many of them that I can't keep track of how much there was left."

She filled the card near the cabinet, noting everything before her human clinic staffs came to tidy it for her.

"I guess I should go to that bar, huh ..."

Her thoughts were jumbled. She was confused with one particular human.

Sonoda Umi, the hunter—Rin said that she was a prodigy hunter—who hated vampires. Maki was tasked with assisting humans regarding vampire problems, but she never actually thought about malice toward herself.

She had never actually seen a human glare at her with that much hatred.

Maki's flat expression suddenly shifted into a smile.

Humans were _foolish_ creatures after all.

**[ ]**


	2. Hunt

**EDIT 25/02/2015: beta-edited by Lillystream**

* * *

_It was her first time being in a city carnival. Her parents said that the theme for that year was animals and there would be circus attraction at the town hall. She was very happy; it was her first time to witness such event in her neighborhood. She would even get to be there with her parents after a long time of them having to spend most of their time working._

_ The long-march was held across the town that time, as the TV mentioned. Stalls lined up with assorted food and games. Parade cars were painted with a spectrum of colors and many people even wore vivid costumes. There were marching bands, and people danced merrily—_

It was a very peaceful childhood image, wasn't it?

_It ended with the shot of a gun._

No; not one of the toy guns from the game attractions. A _real_ gun.

_Someone shot a wolf from the parade. No… that wasn't right. It turned out to be no ordinary wolf._

_It was a werewolf._

_Chaos spread throughout the entire festival, people running for their lives as guns continued to sing, creating a loud orchestra of violence._

_"Quick, run! Werewolves and vampires—they're attacking again!"_

_She couldn't believe what she heard. Weren't those creatures supposed to only exist in fairy tales? That very question echoed clearly inside her mind. Her mom took her hand and they ran, while her father secured them the way to reach their home. He blocked the entrance and told Umi and her mother to hide. The silence inside their home was just as unbearable as the discord outside. An audible roar and whimper could be heard, along with the sound of a gunshot._

_As the sound died down for a while, the door of their home was suddenly obliterated by a great force._

_All she could see was a pair of glowing red eyes before father screamed for help and then—_

Her eyes shot open. Her throat screaming silently while her lungs felt suffocated. She got up rather abruptly and heaving slightly, tears pooling at her eyes and cold sweat running down her skin. That nightmare haunted her every night. The day vampires ruined her life; the very day her life changed its course.

She wiped her eyes as she looked around. It was almost noon, she had slept too long. The bluenette needed to pay a visit to the record room, wanting to gather information about cannibalistic vampires.

How long would it be until she could escape those dreams?

* * *

**episode:02** Hunt

* * *

09 Blood Bar, noon.

The bar itself wasn't open at noon, but Nishikino Maki decided to visit it for another matter. The bartender should be still working as always, she thought. She wore a magenta dress underneath her white cardigan. At first glance, no one would suspect her of being a vampire.

"Sorry, but we're not open yet ..." the emerald-eyed bartender stopped as she saw the woman walk closer. "Ah, Maki-chan, long time no see."

She took a seat on one of the stool. "I want the usual, please."

Toujou Nozomi nodded, getting Maki a tall glass with a quarter of ice. She filled her shaker with red liquid from two different bottles, as well as Rye Whiskey and Vermouth. She shook the shaker for about a minute and poured the mixed beverage into the glass.

"Running out of blood packs, I see?" Nozomi watched as Maki enjoyed her drink, resting her chin in her palm.

"Yeah, you could say that. I was a bit unlucky yesterday; humans caught me." She drank about a quarter of glass, savoring the blood inside the mix of cocktail.

Nozomi tilted her head, looking a bit surprised. "But you didn't even reek of your vampire smell; how could you be suspected?"

"I heard a scream and when I arrived at scene, the person there was already sucked dry—with a few limbs missing, too." Maki sighed. "The hunters suddenly came. One of them quickly accused me of being a vampire, to which I had no choice but to confess. I don't want to start any problems, obviously. But no matter what I said, they wouldn't believe me and they took me in."

The bartender was silent for some reason, before going to the back kitchen and coming back with a thick black book with white floral cover in her hands. Maki recalled the book as what Nozomi used to keep tabs on her customers.

"Cannibal vampire, huh?"

"Ah, you see what I was getting at. The humans weren't very keen on believing me."

Nozomi opened the book and examined every page in a careful manner. Maki didn't comment, choosing instead to sip more of her drink.

"There was one vampire I can recall ever committing this kind of crime, but she's already dead." Nozomi handed Maki the book, opened to the page she found. "Her name was Saeki Reine, killed by an unnamed werewolf."

Nozomi pointed out the details of the annihilation for Maki to read. Once she had finished, the violet-haired bartender closed the book and took it back to the kitchen, leaving Maki stunned beyond words.

"Strange," Maki mused, raising an eyebrow. "Werewolves don't usually butt in to these kinds of problems"

She knew she had to find this werewolf. Though she was not sure who fit the description. She also wondered how the 'gene' of cannibal vampire still remained while the source was already gone. Another thought crossed her mind. Why was the date of Saeki's death exactly the same as that of the last Werewolf Assembly?

"Nozomi, I have a question before I go."

* * *

Werewolf Assembly was a time and place where werewolf packs from the Tokyo area gathered at the biggest wolf tavern in Akihabara to have a humble feast. It was tradition that, at the midnight of the red full moon, the host of the party would challenge the present werewolves to a dare. Werewolves were not the simple-minded creatures everyone made them out to be. They weren't a species whose only instincts were eating and killing. These dares were meant to test their prowesses and abilities. It could be along the lines of 'making an invention' or 'improving their power' or 'to create a virus' or even the infamous 'annual vampire annihilation'. For centuries, werewolves were the natural enemies of vampires; they battled each other for territory and rights to rule. However, as human technologies advanced, their actions were limited as human science surpassed them.

Nico was sure that she could interrogate the organizer of this year's current event, but she brought Eri with her just in case. Last year, they couldn't meet the perpetrator because of her lack of mannerism.

Eli and Nico entered the tavern and were greeted by emptiness.

"The organizer said they would meet us here," Eri read her PDA. "Or is it a trap?"

Nico slide her knife out from her shoe as they treaded carefully along the empty tavern.

"Oh, hello," a cheerful voice rang out from upstairs. A ginger-haired young woman stood there, holding the railing. She then jumped from where she was and walked towards the hunters. She wore a black maid outfit with a white apron. "I'm sorry, I was placing our beers."

Eri nodded. "We are hunters from Medea. We made an appointment with the host of the current Werewolf Assembly."

"You've come to the right person," the woman said, smiling. "My name is Kousaka Honoka. I'm the current host."

"Excuse me? But you look too young to—ow, Eri! Why'd you step on my foot!?"

"Manners, Nico. Manners," she whispered.

"Follow me, then. We'll talk inside."

* * *

Umi had buried herself in all the reports that she could find in order to learn something about their current case. From what she could tell, there had only been one cannibal vampire to ever exist, yet they had died sometime around the last Assembly. The vampire was killed by a werewolf that night, though no one knew who the killer was. Cannibal vampires, she read, would drain their prey dry. They would never target humans if they could help it, but human blood would suffice if they could not find something of their preference. She also read somewhere in the reports that werewolves were also capable of drinking a vampire's blood, but it would only kill them slowly.

"An unknown werewolf, huh ..."

But the data of all creatures were recorded in the database. Their name, rank, family; even the last time they'd been seen were all information stored in the system.

_Could it be that someone manipulated all the data?_ Umi thought to herself. _Should I try and pursue this wolf? Or try to find any leads regarding the victim last night?_

She jotted down her own findings at her PDA. Umi needed to go to the lab to check the creature's autopsy report, just in case.

"There you are, human."

Her amber eyes met with violet once again. The very shade of violet she hated. She rose from her seat, straightening her stance while the vampire just stood by the door, hands folded and brow knitted.

"How did you know I was here?" Her tone was sharp and icy.

"I am a vampire, you know. We can track humans by their scent." Maki rolled her eyes. "Humans have a unique smell that's quite distinguishable."

Umi noted that she should be aware of that fact and that vampires could be anywhere at any time. She didn't blink, her glare unwavering, and she didn't want to exchange more words with the creature in front of her.

"I found out about the cannibal vampire. Her name was Saeki Reine and she was pretty much killed by wolf's hands." The vampire played the ends of her red hair. "So the theory of having another cannibal is pretty much out of the question."

Umi kept her silence. Maki pursed her lips.

"If you have nothing to say, I'll take my leave, human."

The blue-haired hunter watched quietly as the vampire's back disappeared, while her hand itched to draw her katana.

_Not now. Not now. This is not a good place to do this._

* * *

Eri and Nico paid full attention to what the host had to say. They needed to ensure that nothing would happen; no murders, no slaughters, and no annihilation. They asked about almost everything. They made sure to include how the stage would be set, how many wolves would be in attendance, what the feast menu would be, and - the most vital information - the dare.

"This year, we will decide our dare by using roulette, Ayase-san, Yazawa-san." Honoka explained. "No cheating or anything; everything is pure gamble. It's not going to be like the usual way that we decide."

"And ... well, do you know whose pack is the strongest?" Nico asked.

Honoka stopped her explanation and seemed to be thinking.

"I think aside for Kira pack, it must be ... Muse."

It was then that, for the first time, Nico saw Eri make such a rigid expression. She was instantly paler and her eyes widened. Nico decided not to press the matter then; she would be in danger if she talked brashly about werewolf in their 'nest'.

"Okay then, any other questions?" Honoka clapped her hands.

"Uhh, I think that's enough for now. Maybe we'll back later if anything new comes up." Eri put her PDA back to her pocket.

"How about some Homura Manjuu as a parting gift? We have bone, veins, and minced human meat as our primary fil—"

"No thanks!" Nico rejected abruptly. "Thanks for your time, Kousaka-san."

They excused themself from the tavern and left as quickly as possible. Once they were far out of sight, Honoka sighed in relief. She clapped her hands three times, and the tavern was full of wolves in their prime form.

"Honoka, how dare you hog all humans to yourself!" shouted a wolf with blue fur.

"I'm just doing my job, you see." She flashed a grin. "And don't tell anyone else that I mentioned Muse's name to them or I'll be pieces of steak tomorrow~"

"Don't worry pal," one one with grey fur growled. "We might share the same idea of wanting to slay those vampires, but who doesn't hate Muse?"

Every wolf present howled in unison. Honoka only chuckled in response.

* * *

Umi entered the lab, alone, to get the autopsy report. The place was crowded by many different hunters that used the lab or simply took the test results of some sort of case. When the lab technician called her name, she took the report without bothering to ask anything and exited the room. The hunter went back to the record room and began to analyze every bit of the report.

_Status: Mature vampire_

Willing to believe it or not, it didn't seem as though she had much of a choice. The vampire was right in that the victim was also a vampire. The cause of death was blood loss and body mutilation. There was nothing written about silver being used, so she concluded it had to have been a fight between two creatures. However, what she read on the next page shocked her; there was a visual as well as personal data of the victim written.

_Victim name: Saeki Reine_

**[ ]**


	3. Trial

**EDIT 25/02/2015 ****beta-edited by Lillystream**

* * *

**episode:03** Trial

* * *

"Eri, what the hell is Muse?"

Eri jolted at the sudden question; it seemed as though the black-haired hunter was quite perceptive at times. As they arrived back at the building, Nico's garnet eyes were demanding and inquisitive.

"Muse is, well, a group of scientists? They are werewolves who solely devote their lives for advance of werewolves, to be more exact," she explained, hoping that Nico would understand.

Nico urged her to continue. She explained the definition of Muse broadly; from the suspected founder of the pack to what inventions they had made.

"They started to make a device that can repel a vampire's smell's protection so they can track them almost anywhere. There was also a mysterious, unpublished invention that was never made known to the public during Werewolf Assembly. They were also said to be the culprit behind those werewolf uproars when Werewolf Assembly was held. There were nasty rumors circling around that for a while. Some people think they made some sort of mutant werewolf or something."

Nico scratched the back of her neck, thinking over the information. "Basically," she said, "they're mad scientists, right?"

Eli nodded slightly in response. "Their inventions were always perfect. Oh, I forgot to mention that they can make viruses, too," Eri added. "They work underground and rarely show up in the tavern. They are feared for almost everything they have; fame, power ... and of course, intellect."

"You sure know a lot about this pack," Nico noted. "Were you from the werewolf department before you got admitted to vampire division or something?"

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Kinda. I don't like werewolves myself, however."

"You hated them? But you talked so naturally around Kousaka just a while ago!"

"Well, I can't stand their smell," her eyes darted away. "Their smell reminds me of—"

The sudden ringing of a heavy metal ringtone filled the hall, Nico quickly snatched her PDA and answered the call.

"Yes, Yazawa Nico here ... oh, Rin?" Nico set her phone on the table, and, with the click of a button, a screen projected to the wall. Rin stared back of them, the image and audio from the PDA being projected. Based on the background, Rin was located in the center of a crowd somewhere in Akihabara. What made them curious was the excessive amount of yellow police line behind her.

_"You guys won't believe this! I found another slaughtering victim similar to last night's case!"_ Two sets of eyes widened in shock. Rin directed her phone to the scene of the crime. From the video, Eri could see that the scene was left untouched aside from the body being removed. _"I am the only hunter investigating here, other than some police officers. Can I request for backup?"_

"Copy that, we'll be there shortly. Just mail us the coordinate." Nico disconnected the phone.

"I'll get the car again. Nico, you go to third floor and bring us some forensic tools."

* * *

This is _impossible_. Umi couldn't believe her eyes.

The victim they had found was somebody who had been found dead three years ago… Saeki Reine. There couldn't be any error from the lab autopsy, either. She sat in silence for about thirty minutes in the record room, thinking about any possibilities. She scribbled some notes, while she opened the data about Saeki Reine, her 'fake death' report, her 'actual death' report, her autopsy report, and the information regarding the missing vampire Miyashita Coco.

Was this all being set up by a third party? Was there even a true culprit behind this? Was Coco the only possible suspect?

She written all the possibilities regarding the case.

Suddenly, a pop-out notification rang from her phone. She checked and saw that it was information for vampire division personnel.

_A body was found in the center of Akihabara's main crossroad, sucked dry. Also, several of the limbs went missing: the head, and the lower extremity. From preliminary check, it can be concluded that the victim this time is also a vampire. The victim skin's is paler than usual human average. Further investigation is needed to recover the identity._

"A vampire killed in broad daylight ..." Her expression darkened. "That pureblood. That pureblood is the only one who could have done it."

* * *

When the two hunters arrived at the scene of crime, Eri and Nico were split to different areas to search for clues, as Rin was still being questioned by the local precinct regarding the body's discovery. The body had been found by a woman whom happened to pass by the road at 12:53 sharp.

"Wow, the culprit was a lot cleaner. There is only a bit of blood splattered compared to last time." Nico measured the length of blood from the position of victim. "Eri, have you found any murder weapon?"

"Not exactly, but take a look at this ..." the blonde hunter pointed at the closest trash bin. "I found brochures and pamphlets about Werewolf Assembly XIX, dyed with red."

Eri dumped the content of trash bin aside, papers scattering randomly and unceremoniously across the ground. There were red blotches on it as Eri had said. Nico took the Luminol spray out and checked the surface, and watched as it reacted positive. This blood, presumably, was the victim's. Nico took some of them into plastic bags to be examined in the lab. As she gathered the papers, something hit her; the blood there was not just simply 'wiped down' from the victim, it was—

"Wait a sec, Eri! Don't take those back to the trash bin yet!" the black-haired hunter commanded. "Here, let's sort this out; I think it contains a message."

It took quite a while – largely due to the sheer amount of papers there were – to assemble them; a tricky feat in itself. As Eri re-assembled the last piece of the big letter, a chill ran down her spine as she read the blood letter aloud for only her and Nico to hear.

[ _Dear vampires, you have been warned fair.  
Three, two, one, zero,  
and the family of vampire vanishes into thin air.  
And no one can stop us from being the heir._

_–_ _μ's_]

* * *

Nishikino Maki was beyond confused to have received a message urgently summoning her to the Association. She had just been there at noon and yet she was being called back without any reason given. The doctor was busy handling patients back in the clinic, so she was unsure as to why she was being called back so soon. She was ordered to go to the fourth floor's glass training hall, where a few ceremonies were held inside the building.

The room was named 'glass training hall' because it was surrounded by thick glass with the sun acting as the primary source of light.

What waited her inside the calm hall was no other than the hunter with bright, amber eyes. The bloodlust they held was clear; the woman was ready to kill.

Maki, on the other hand, only shrugged the pressure off as she entered the hall with hand inside her white suit pocket.

"Let me take a guess," she said, "did the humans suspect me for some sort of crime again?"

There was no answer from the bluenette. Maki's eye twitched, and she felt unnerved by the silence in the room. The vampire could see the tip of the glistening katana the hunter held in her right hand. Sonoda Umi was positioned readily, dressed in her full hunter attire. Nishikino Maki stood quite far before her. They stared at each other for quite some time, both regarding each other silently.

"Shut up, vampire. Your life will end by my hands."

As she blinked in confusion, the hunter stepped forward. The sudden thrust of her sword shocked Maki at first, as she aimed her body to her left. It was thanks to her reflexes that she was able to dodge, only to feel a sharp slice contact her cheek, glittering silver sweeping past her eyes. She could feel blood drip slowly from the gash. Silver! That katana was imbued by silver. A stab wound probably taking long to heal. One wrong move on her part would be fatal.

The vampire had no choice but to put a fight, seeing that those eyes still showed no sign of mercy.

Maki couldn't help but to smile. Her eyes turned red.

She never had a fight like this before. Or she couldn't ever remember having one.

"You vampires always lie."

"Oh? Is that how you think it is?"

The hunter leaped from where she stood, trying to attack from the front, where the vampire dodged the slash by ducking down. The play of slashing and dodging continued with probability of half-and-half—either dead or alive—for both of them. The vampire thought to bare her fangs, but she saw no opening; and same thing went for the hunter with her blade of silver.

"Aren't humans the ones who always lie?"

The slash was dodged, again.

Her amber locked with bloody red.

"Or is it that humans always perceive their lies to become a false truth?"

It seemed that their physical battle was also becoming one of mind as well; one of reverse psychology.

Both of them were separated, though, as they noticed a person crash through the thick glass. They donned a full white fox mask and white shrine maiden robes.

"What—"

"Silence, human. I have no business with you," the figure stated calmly. "Lady Nishikino, I have a message from Muse addressed to you."

They placed a red envelope in Maki's hand. Umi rested her blade against the unknown figure's neck.

"You smell like a vampire! How could you work for Muse?"

"Silence, you insolent being." The messenger cast the sword aside with a swift flourish of their hand, knocking it out of Umi's grip, causing it to clatter to the wooden floor. "Or are you so keen to die?"

She could feel a sharp glare from behind the mask. As she picked knife hidden behind her belt, about to attack the messenger—

"Umi, back down. She's not your average opponent." Maki grabbed her knife from her. Her gaze was still in sharp glow of blood red. "Go back to your place, before I make you regret your position."

The messenger flew back through the broken wall, leaving the two in the room. Maki observed the envelope, her hand still gripped tight around the handle of Umi's knife. Her eyes slowly returned to her usual violet.

"Release me, vampire," she groaned. Then she remembered how the vampire regarded her moments ago. "How—how dare you addressed me so casually!?"

"Oh, sorry, I was just kind of lost in the atmosphere." Maki released the knife, and pulled away her hands. She felt a burning sensation where the silver had touched. She ignored the confused look on Umi's face as she opened the letter directed to her.

"What was the letter about?"

"It is not of a human's concern." Maki took the envelope to her pocket. "Well then if you excuse me ..."

"We're not finished yet, vampire." Her voice was enough to make the vampire stop. "You were summoned here because you're the only vampire that can walk in daylight. There was another body found."

Maki didn't bother to look into Umi's direction.

"I see," she said. "That, however, is not my fault. You'll see soon enough."

Umi didn't say anything else as the vampire exited the hall. She picked up her katana from the floor, examining it for damage. There was a smear of blood left there left behind from their fight minutes ago. The vampire blood lacked any strong smell that a human's would have.

.

.

.

She put back the sword back to the sheath, as her fist clenched the handle in its grip.

"I'll be the one who kill you, no matter what."

* * *

Maki sighed ruefully as she trotted through the silent hallway. A sweet scent lingered, but she would not permit her mind to wander. She looked at her hand. The burn feeling was not gone even after her wounds already healed.

_"Hey, Nozomi, can I ask how—uhh—I-Is it delicious to drink a human's blood through their veins?" Her face was as red as a tomato._

_Nozomi chuckled in response. _

_"Oh, so you finally found a sweet scent of human for yourself? Maki-chan, you sure are slow."_

_"Answer my question, please." She glared at the bartender._

_"I can't answer it; it's different for all vampires. I have a strange appetite myself, you know." Nozomi grinned. "How about you find out for yourself? The taste, I mean."_

Doctor Nishikino Maki brushed the thoughts aside as her hand traced the outline of the envelope inside her pocket. It was not the time for her to think about blood. She had more concerning things to think about it.

This must be it, _they challenged us to war_.

* * *

"Ayase Eri speaking. Ah, hello Umi, I was about to inform you about our investigation."

Eri was alone. She had separated herself from Nico and Rin and took a seat at her usual spot at her favorite bar. She reported her findings to her partner, and made sure that Umi waited patiently until the submitted evidence was analyzed and reminded her that the victim was not yet known. It was the same as the previous night's victim. That, however, led their investigation somewhat to another dead end. There was no strong evidence that pointed out who the mastermind was; though the circumstances seemed to make one pureblood look suspicious over and over again.

"Here; your usual Silver Bullet cocktail," the bartender said in her Kansai accent, handing down her order. "Ericchi."

She gazed upon her emerald eyes.

09 Vampire Bar was about to open for business, the sun setting on the horizon. She didn't have much time before the bar would be bustling with vampires.

"Guess what; someone paid me a visit this afternoon." Nozomi showed Eri a purple-colored envelope. "Do you recognize this smell?"

"... The Messenger, huh?" she took a sip to her cocktail. The bartender then sat across from her and opened the letter for her to see.

The letter was composed of only three words and a signature.

_You are invited. - μ's._

"Will you go, then?"

The bartender shook her head as her expression grew meloncholy. "Maki-chan is enough." She closed the paper. "They already made their move to make the Nishikino family exposed, don't you think so?"

"Actually I found this letter with Nico from the crime scene," Eri handed her PDA to Nozomi. "Maybe you should read it."

The sparkle in those emerald eyes faded slightly as she read the content of bloody letter the blonde haired hunter took photo of.

"I see. But still, Maki-chan is enough for the next Werewolf Assembly."

"What makes you so ... sure?"

"It's given, y'see," was the answer that she gave the hunter. "Muse will not make their move _yet_, I can assure you; as long as Maki isn't defeated."

**[ ]**

* * *

**a/n.** HELLO GUYS. THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS/FAVES/FOLLOWS. I LOVE YOU ALL!

Whoa I forgot to put an a/n on the second chapter ;;

So the Werewolf Assembly is nearing~ guess what will happen? Yeah it will be all lulz (is shot). And Maki accidentally called Umi by her first name. I love to write that part! Hopefully I can keep this constant update~

Oh yeah, the reference for cocktail from the second and third chapter is from internet, actually in last chapter, I searched for a cocktail that is made with tomato from .

Anyway, thanks for reading and keep stay tuned!


	4. Werewolf Assembly

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Love Live!

**a/n. **Sorry for a very late update, I am quite busy as well as my beta, but we tried hard to finish everything quickly. Thanks for the review and always a very big thanks to **Lillystream **for the beta, you're awesome!

Hopefully you enjoy this chapter (:

* * *

**episode:04** Werewolf Assembly

* * *

Eri finished her drink, glancing over to Nozomi every once in a while, taking note of her worried expression. The purple haired bartender was somewhat restless after seeing the letter that Nico managed to find, her emerald eyes staring into the distance. She looked like she was deep in thought but not entirely, as if she was unreachable.

Eli tapped her glass to get Nozomi's attention.

"I'm still curious… Why do you trust Maki so much with this?" Eri asked. "I mean, you are more suited for this problem than she is."

Nozomi chuckled. "What do you mean? You want me to be caught that badly?"

Eri shook her head vehemently. "No, that's not what I meant. I—"

The bartender took silenced what she was going to say by placing an index finger against her lips, smiling at her.

"I know, I know. To answer your question, I just want to see what they're trying to accomplish by exposing Maki's position," Nozomi admitted. "I've got an idea, but let's just hope for the best."

Eri lowered her head. She took note not to jump to conclusions and to not take reckless measures. This was the moment where everything should play in their favor, for now.

"I'll take my leave, then. Thanks for—"

"Ericchi, don't forget you have to pay."

Nozomi showed Eri a needle. Eri, in turn, smiled and offered her hand. "You sure have a strange taste."

x x x

_That was the very first time she had someone she could call a 'friend'. It was when a Pureblood family meeting was being held quite some time ago. Her mother had told her to just play in their backyard until the meeting finished. Heeding her mother's words, she ventured into the backyard and, in turn, came across another vampire kid._

_That day, she met a skinny vampire; skinnier than she when she looked in the mirror. She never thought that she would meet someone like that. She played with that kid whenever a meeting was being held._

_She never knew when or why exactly they bonded. It was all just a whim of fate. But they had the same original plan to, so they were 'friends' for long._

_Friend—what a strange thing to call them. After all, she was a loner; a cold vampire with no mercy. However, upon meeting her, she changed from secluded and closed Nishikino Maki to be more of an open person._

_That kid, her name was —_

Slowly, her violet orbs opened to the dark room beyond her. She remembered that she was in the underground, sorting some documents of the clinic's patient, but seemed like slumber won over her ability to finish her job quickly. Her mind was fuzzy and she couldn't remember the contents of her dream. Her eyes felt tired somehow?

She took a peek through her drawer to find blood packs, cigarettes and a lighter. A smile formed on the vampire's lips as she picked up the box. It was quite some time since her last smoke. The feeling of bitterness filled her lips, but she tasted nothingness for the most part.

"This full moon is when Werewolf Assembly will be, right...?" she murmured between her smoky breaths.

She rose from her seat and walked out of her room. She walked until she reached a large water-filled tube hooked up to several different machines, monitoring its contents. Maki looked at it with a forlorn expression, as she put out her cigar.

"I must win this time. I must."

x x x

The Werewolf Assembly arrived that night. After one month passed, there were no other incidents where vampires were involved. The Association highly hoped that there would be no incidents like that anymore.

Umi was among the ones who were not amused by this turning point.

The last victim's identity was Miyashita Coco, the lost low-leveled vampire that she sought. She was temporarily jobless, but she still dug up some information about cannibal vampires in her own time. There was not much information that she could get.

There were three Pureblood Vampire families, their names and identities all classified, and nobody knew who or where they were. Also classified were their special traits aside from being able to survive longer than most other vampires. She knew one of those families belonged to Nishikino. And, despite her objective being to kill her, Umi figured she could get some sort of info off of the scarlet haired vampire.

The page she turned to caught her eye.

_Vampires tend to be the most dangerous during full moon, like werewolves. Their thirst, as well as their power, will be at its peak. _

_Sometimes they will enter a 'blood-crazed' state under the influence of the full moon. Humans should be especially careful about this since most vampires will briefly lose their sanity. However, in current times, there have not been any vampires who have succumbed into such state. _

_Vampires are capable of drinking a werewolf's blood, and vice versa; however, by doing so, they are poisoning themselves. This can be cured by feeding from a non-lethal blood source. _

_If vampires shared their 'venom' with other creatures when the blood is taken, it is possible to use them as a "puppet."_

_Werewolves retain their original human's irises as they turn. Watch out if their eyes become red; it means they have lost their sanity._

"You sure study a lot, Sonoda."

The sudden voice behind her surprised her. The Nishikino vampire was standing behind her the whole time without her noticing. Umi never let her guard down, but when she threw herself into research and combat training, she tended to forget about her surroundings.

"What are you doing here? Don't you want to hide somewhere before Werewolf Assembly to avoid being killed?"

"I'm not a coward," she firmly said. "I am here because Ayase Eri called me."

"Then, what are you doing _here_? Get out of my sight, vampire."

"I have a message from Eri to you; she said that you'll team up with her in tonight's assembly operation." Maki stated. "That's all."

She noticed something different about the vampire in front of her; not only how her amethyst eyes were tired and unfocused, but also how her skin was much paler. Her clothes also reeked of tobacco.

"You look pale."

"Vampires are always pale."

"I mean, you—"

"Are you concerned about a vampire's well-being, Sonoda?"

"No," the hunter retorted. "Now please get out of my sight."

x x x

The moon shone beautifully as night came. The time seemed to drag on for an exceptionally long time, midnight taking forever to approach. Rin had already set up a hidden surveillance camera inside the tavern for every standby hunter to see the progress of the current assembly. The tavern was full of werewolves in human form, with meat and beer already being distributed to the guests.

Over fifty hunters were assigned to watch as everything played out. Eri and Umi situated themselves at the city hall. Eri was to be a sniper while Umi was ready with her blade, prepared to strike the enemy head-on. They communicated as the assembly was getting ready to begin. The two arranged a strategy for roughly an hour before speaking about the current situation. It had been a while since last they teamed up.

"I've been wondering, what have you been talking about with that vampire?"

_"__You mean Nishikino?"_ Eri answered on her line. _"I showed her the letter that Nico found at the last cannibal vampire's incident."_

"Letter?"

_"__Yeah, let me send it to you."_

Umi read through the letter thoughtfully, as yet another question surfaced on her mind.

"Eri, what beings composed Muse?" Umi closed her e-mail. "I mean, when I was settling a score with that vampire, a different vampire interfered with us and she said she was with Muse."

Eri was silent for a minute. _"A vampire, you say?"_

"Yeah, 'she'—well, at least the Nishikino vampire said she was a woman—was dressed in white shrine robes and wore a fox mask."

_"—__Umi, the assembly is about to begin. Watch it from the streaming video."_

The bluenette switched her screen to where the video was streaming. The tavern's condition didn't change much aside from the cheering and confetti whirring from every direction. One young woman took a step forward. She was wearing an orange gown with a black magician hat that obscured most of her facial features from the camera's view. There were people behind her, dragging some sort of closed curtain. It must be the roulette that the organizer, Kousaka Honoka, had mentioned.

**"****WELCOME TO THE NINETEENTH WEREWOLF ASSEMBLY!"**

The guests responded with loud applause and more cheering.

"Tonight, I, Kousaka Honoka, will be the one to decide your fate. And tonight, for the first time, we'll decide everything by this fair roulette of pure luck."

Collective grunts could be heard through the speaker; it seemed that the guests were unsatisfied.

"Your dare will be: _'Which race needs to be hunted tonight?_'!"

Umi took a closer look as the curtain was pried from the round roulette. The circle was divided into three sections, each a different color. Red for vampire, yellow for human, and orange for both. She could feel a chill run down her spine as the woman began to spin the wheel, the crowd inside the tavern rising.

_"__I never knew that's how they call a roulette!"_ Eri couldn't hold her surprised yell. _"This is bad! There are one hundred wolves in there! What if—"_

The arrow stopped – in the orange portion. Her amber eyes widened in shock.

"I have another condition for you wolves to fulfill!" The woman in the video raised some sort of small bottle filled in green liquid. "You must drink this before you go and hunt your prey!"

The tavern was silent as they did as they were instructed. The ceiling that covered the tavern slowly separated, revealing the moon overhead. One, two, three, and everyone there showed their true colors, werewolves howled to the moon.

_"__Wait a second—their eyes! Umi, look at their eyes!"_

Eri was right, their eyes were very different; blood gushed from their red eyes. After the howling subsided, the wolves ran out from the tavern looking hungry and crazed.

"Oh ... no."

x x x

Nico was the one to rush into the tavern, seeing that it was already void of the wolves. The tavern was in disarray; broken tables strewn across the floor as well as glistening pieces of glass shards. And, there stood the woman who organized the whole havoc. She simply stood there, calmly, as she took off her hat. Nico drew two pistols from her person, pointing them right in the woman's direction.

"What a beautiful night, isn't it, hunter?"

"You lied to us, Kousaka."

"I didn't, I said that it was a roulette." The ginger-haired woman chuckled. "Maybe it's just that Lady Luck bestowed the mercy upon us werewolves to finally have a chance to turn the tables?"

"What did you give to those wolves!?"

"Actually, that is our developed mutation liquid." There came another voice behind where Nico stood. The black-haired hunter took a quick glance to see someone in white shrine maiden robes and fox mask walked towards her. "Anybody takes a sip and they'll run wild."

"Correct! You got 100 points!" Honoka merrily said.

Nico's eye twitched in anger; she couldn't be all sober anymore. Nico cursed under her breath as she made to pull the trigger.

"If you try to pull that trigger, the woman behind you will cut off your head, hunter."

"Tch!" Nico slammed the gun to the ground, as she watched the two behind this mischief getting ready to flee the scene.

"Well then, have a good taste of defeat, hunter."

As they disappeared to the black night sky, Nico cursed audibly, mostly cursing her inability to catch the real perpetrator.

.

.

.

"So they already fled. Those Muse."

A lone figure stood by the edge of the separated roof, gazing at the moon. Nico was silent as those bloody red eyes glared back at her.

x x x

Umi first saw a frenzied-looking werewolf coming at her before spotting a pack of ten following them. Their state was similar to a person being drugged; Umi deducted that the green liquid was something that made them wilder than usual. Their eyes were red, blood dripping from them, making it look like they were blinded.

The blue-haired hunter slashed in a circle, avoiding being surrounded, as Eri shot silver bullets from the roof in an attempt to immobilize them. She jumped around, dodging the wolves that tried to cut her down with their fangs or sharp claws.

Eri's bullets helped; the pack was unable to surround her as the bullet wounds took their course.

"Hyah!"

She pierced its heart, taking one of them out. Nine left.

One of the wolves bit her left arm, thankfully Eri nulled them with a shot. Eight left.

Umi pushed back the horde of wolves with her blade, clashing with fangs and claws. Their number was not decreasing much. She had to be careful to avoid being wounded badly, or she would be mincemeat; just one bite was enough.

_"__Umi, incoming pack of ten!"_

She groaned in frustration. Her blade decreased their strength, but more keep coming. She ducked as one of the creatures' claws swung too close to her face, and kicked out at its snout. She used both of her hands now as she stabbed it.

One hundred wolves; the city is practically a mess.

She had no choice but to use her own gun against them in close range. Umi somersaulted backwards and readied her gun in her left hand and her katana in her right. When three wolves jumped to her way, she blew holes in their heads. One of them was smart enough to dodge, and managed to land a hit straight to her stomach, sending her flying.

There was no way out.

Umi coughed as she recovered from the blow.

Corpses littered the ground as she was surrounded by five of the living. Eri was taking care of another group to the east of the hall. Her bite wound stung and her abdomen felt numb.

She wouldn't lose; she had to keep fighting.

The blue-haired hunter charged, using her blade's sharp edge to break their formation. She ran away through the dark hallway, hoping that the wolves would follow her and she'd ambush them from above.

"Eri, contact me later, I'll kill these wolves in my own way."

She just needed to run.

x x x

"Umi! Where do you plan to go!? Umi!?"

Eri lost the sight of the katana-user as she busied herself taking care of five werewolves with the rifle. Their connection was cut, too. She had to find a way to re-establish the connection after she finished her job—

A loud thumping sound could be heard in the distance. The sound of a harsh collision rang through the air. Eri could heard a distant howl of pain before a distinct cracking sound could be heard. She looked through the aiming lens of her rifle to get a good view of the commotion.

Werewolves were being reduced to corpses by another pack. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. How could werewolves with same objective kill each other?

She needed to find where Umi was.

Eri ran downstairs toward the city hall to see the situation clearly for herself. A pack composed of ten werewolves were making their killing, unfazed by Eri's presence. They just kept clawing at their own race, killing them. As they finished murdering their allies, they stopped moving.

The blonde hunter realized that their movement was unnatural, like they were controlled by—

One name flashed through Eri's mind.

x x x

Umi huffed as she stabbed the last of the mutts that followed her into the alley. She walked in a random direction to find a way out as she ripped the cloth of her skirt to bandage her bite wound with. The punctures in her arm were not very deep themselves, but one of the wolf's fangs had managed to puncture her artery, causing the blood to flow.

The blue-haired hunter should have reached a main road by then, but she kept finding herself at dead ends. The city was dark and the regular night life was gone; the association had already informed the humans to stay in their homes and keep hidden. Because of the lack of all lights, Umi could hardly see a thing.

Her PDA rang, signaling that Eri contacted her. She must have already finished her sniping job.

_"__Umi, where in the world are you!?"_

"I think I am closer to the financial district, but all I can see are houses. The alleyway is too dark."

_"__I asked several hunters; they said this case will be wrapped up soon. There are not many more wild werewolves left, and, well, there is quite a bit of property damage and all but that can wait."_

Umi saw a branching road ahead of her and she sighed in relief as the main road came into sight. She was in the middle of housing area of Akihabara, far from where city hall and financial district is.

_"__Umi, I have something to tell you." _Eri coughed. _"There was a pack of ten werewolves that helped us kill some of those wolves. I'm pretty sure they were being controlled."_

"Controlled ...? How?" Umi suddenly remembered the record's content. "Oh, that Pureblood, you mean?"

_"__We can't find her anywhere, but she must be as good as dead by now. I mean, she drank blood from ten werewolves; she poisoned herself."_

The hunter shut the phone. Her teeth grit, her fist clenched, as her amber eyes gazed to the sky. They glinted with bewilderment.

_The vampire is dead?_

**[ ]**


	5. Scarlet Countdown

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Love Live!

**a/n.** This chapter is still the **non-Beta version** (for some reason I decided to upload it first), I'm sorry for my crappy English, and again sorry for the very late updates.  
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy this chapter (:

* * *

**episode:05** Scarlet Countdown

* * *

Umi didn't know what to do next. She swore by her blade that she would avenge her family, by vanquishing all of vampires. The chance came to her shortly as she met a redhead vampire. She was a pureblood, rare one, and the very family that had been exposed because of the recurring incident. After hearing Eri's explanation, she couldn't believe her ears. She couldn't believe her chance to kill was all but vain.

_Calm down Umi, calm down._

The part of her still didn't want to believe it, and there was part of her that keep her composure together.

Umi dragged her feet across lonely asphalt road, she walked aimlessly as she held her wounded hand. Her black uniform is dirty of werewolves' blood, and she hadn't checked whether her blade is still sharp from all those fights or not.

She didn't even know what to do next, should she come back to the Medea building? Or should she do nothing entirely?

She noticed that the path she threaded seems familiar. The location of houses, the corners, everything. She kept walking to reach a house with huge wooden fence. The house was long abandoned, the roof and the wall must be holed by now, even the name plank was unreadable at best, but she can still figure the kanji of the name written on it.

_Sonoda—_yes, it was her home. She had abandoned it for years already since Vampires killed her family.

She was raised from a very traditional Japanese family. Her house was a bit different from any other house present there, she has a traditional-styled house that composed mainly of woods with a very big yard and separated building for her father's dojo. She was trained _kendo_ and_ kyuudo_ below her father's direction. Her mother would teach her how to do various traditional dance, or sometimes flower arrangement and calligraphy. Yes, she was trained to be a strong, graceful, one refined Japanese woman.

As her eyes filled with nostalgia, she realized that the fence was broken by the farthest side. She ducked to see that there were blood in it, werewolves smell reeked from it.

The pool of blood continued to where the dojo is. Umi decided to follow the trail, with katana readied by her hand. The smell of blood overwhelmed her sense but she had no choice but to follow the trace. There were werewolves scattered about her yard, dead with head severed.

So werewolves really did trespassed through her yard, but what for?

The wooden sliding door of dojo was broken, and the trail of blood continued. The stench of blood intensified, as she saw a pile of wolf bodies there, how many that had been killed?

Fortunately, because the roof was in quite bad shape, moonlight passed through, made the room less dark. The blood trail, too, finally stopped to where the culprit behind the trespassing seated limply.

A vampire with red hair sat there, leaned to wall and closed her eyes, her usual white suit dyed in red. She kneeled, checked whether the vampire is alive or not. Her pale complexion grew whiter, and there are several wounds that still dripped of odorless blood, she could hear a slow and steady breath from afar.

_So she survived_, Umi mentally noted.

As the gaze of vampire met hers, she only saw blood red. Was she the one who killed all those wolves, while being in her poisoned state?

"Don't touch me—" the vampire pried the hand of human aside, coughing and wheezing in process, her eyes glinted dangerously to her amber. "—the poisoned blood might harm you."

There was a moment of silence as their orbs locked at each other.

"Eri told me that you drank wolf's blood. And that you'll die soon."

"Isn't that exactly what you wanted?"

Umi was void of expression.

"I waited here all the time for the time of my death, anyway." the vampire said between her ragged breaths. "Why don't you make it faster?"

She got up to her feet, katana pointed to the vampire's face. Her hand gripped her katana tightly, her whole body tensed. This is the chance, _the very chance_, she must aim for the vampire heart or easily severed her head and her objective is cleared. She'd avenge her family at her own home. She would, she would—

"—No." she put her katana back to her sheath. "It's a disgrace for a warrior to kill someone who's already fallen. Such an act of coward, if I may add."

She kneeled once again in front of the vampire, she noticed the confused look painted all over the vampire's face.

"I swear that I'd kill you, but in a fair way and only by _my_ own hands."

The calm voice of Umi woke her up from her reverie.

"I see ..." Maki said as she felt her own throat clenched. "But I might die, soon."

_The poison blood can be taken out by feeding another blood to their system._

Umi rolled up her shirt and tore the fabric that closed her bite wound, she showed it to the vampire. She was doing it not out of charity or anything, she done it for herself, for the sake of killing the very vampire in front of her.

"Here," Umi offered. "Drink my blood."

Nishikino Maki was stunned for a moment before a crisp laugh followed.

"You sure have a guts, offering your blood to a very being you hate." the vampire coughed. "You knows what will happen next don't you?"

The vampire wheezed. She was already by her limit. The werewolf blood was very bitter, and it made her body ache in pain, it was like something ate away her flesh fast. However, the source for her to get out from the condition of poison was presented in front of her, begged to be taken.

Umi's blood, sweet smell wafted between those stinking piles of werewolves. From the first her eyes landed at a fabric on her left hand, she must have been bitten and the blood is still there. She could hear the human's pulse, her heartbeat, everything just made her sanity wavered. She must get the blood, she needed blood, she—

In next second, Umi can feel her hand being pulled strongly. Their face was inches apart, their bodies barely touching and she didn't have any chance to relent as a soft, cold lips crashed into hers, robbed her from any action. Umi's mind blurred by seconds as the vampire continued.

Sonoda Umi only ever known how vampire feed by theory. Vampires either kissed their human prey or they will directly insert the venom when biting, as to nullify the pain that will be experienced when the blood is taken.

Her mind was fuzzy, she can't feel her strength anymore. She could faintly hear the vampire moaned against her lips before their lips touched once again, and her consciousness faded into the point of blackness.

"I'm sorry ... Umi." she murmured as she held the human's body close. "I'm really sorry."

The vampire eyes darted directly to the bleeding on Umi's arm. What an ugly bite wound, she thought to herself. She then licked the still dripping red liquid dry before she reached to where the puncture holes are. Maki drank the blood clean from the stream, the puncture holes closed and the blood stopped.

She then laid Umi at the wooden floor beside her. She rose from her seating position, as her strength finally came back to her. Her wounds were not completely healed by the amount of blood she took, but it was enough to make the bleeding stopped and for the poison effect to disappear.

She ran her hand through her lips, an ever-present warmth and sweetness was still there, her cheek reddened as she recalled the process.

_God, her blood is really sweet_.

* * *

Again, the Werewolf Assembly ended in chaos. After the disaster, a mass clean-up was being held throughout the city. Hunters piled up the corpses of wolves at the center of city hall and ready to burn them.

"Hoshizora, how's the condition there?"

"You can call me Rin, Ayase-san."

"Then, call me Eri."

"Well, Eri-chan, _nya_." Rin added. "We already picked about eighty wolves, twenty still missing. I wonder where they went, _nya._" Rin read her notes out loud. "And Nico-chan is still down, she said that she knows where the Muse is but she didn't catch them."

It's still as far as Nozomi had predicted. Muse didn't actually show up during the feast, instead, they were controlling everything behind the scene. New information that should be added is that Kousaka Honoka, a werewolf, is also a part of Muse. And Muse is responsible for all that happened this full moon. The Association, mainly the Werewolf Department will pursue more about this matter.

"Oh yeah, Eri-chan, I have a personal question about you!"

The orange-haired hunter whispered to the taller hunter.

"How ... did you know?" Eri was surprised.

"Someone taught me about that, _nya_." Rin answered. "Then, I'll take my leave, Eri-chan!"

Eri saw the hunter went back to her post as she pondered about what just Rin said to her.

"So she knows ..." she mumbled. "I should be more careful from now on."

* * *

Kousaka Honoka stood in the center of tavern, looking at the mess that had been made. The hunter must have this place searched later, or maybe right now. She was back to gather her belongings, as to bring home a bottle of liquor that she had originally prepared for a certain guest. The ginger-haired werewolf wiped the bottle clean. She ordered that special Vodka of 40% ABV right from Russia, and she even get the glass set just for the occasion.

She was originally the tavern's finest barista, her skill and knowledge about coffee was no match for anyone. But then, the tavern owner wanted her to serve beer and liquor to the guest as well, so she studied more about almost all of beverages.

Her phone rang from her pocket, and she smiled when saw the caller ID.

"Hi!" was the first greeting she use. "Yes, I already get the drink for us. Please wait a moment, okay?"

She listened to the speaker intently, grin spread to her lips. "Don't worry, don't worry! We'll think about another method, okay? Yeah, I assure you that we'll defeat Maki-chan to get what we deserved to have!"

* * *

Umi opened her eyes to see broken ceiling stared back at her. She was about to get up but headache made her to stay put. The hunter couldn't recall what actually happened last night, and seems the time is already morning. She tried to get up for the second time, as she noticed something covered her body the whole time.

A white suit dyed in blood.

Sudden memories struck her. She remembered now. That vampire, she—

Umi touched her lips unconsciously as her face flushed a darker shade of red.

_She kissed me. The vampire kissed me. She stole my—_

"Are you awake, Sonoda?"

The familiar voice shook her from her reverie. It was the owner of the white suit, Nishikino Maki herself. She was holding a plastic bag in her right hand. Umi really wanted to get up and go away from that place.

The vampire sat beside her as she opened the bag to reveal two canned drinks and one pack of cigarette.

"I bought you a drink." Maki said as she handed the can of oolong tea.

She quickly snatched away the can, didn't bother to mince any comment. Umi avoided those amethyst orbs.

"I'm sorry, did—did that hurt?" the vampire sounded apologetic.

By 'that', she must meant the feeding process. Umi glanced at where her bite wound was to find nothing had happened. She didn't have any wound at her arm.

"No, well, umm ... _no_." Umi tried hard to not sound embarrassed.

"This is my first time I fed from actual human." Maki stated. "I'm sorry."

Her amber looked back at the vampire, as Maki opened her coffee can. At a first glance, Nishikino Maki didn't resemble any vampire, and she didn't smell like one, either. Umi thought to herself, what makes her knew that she was a vampire from the first sight? Was it from her eyes? Or perhaps from her hardened intuition? Or her boiled mentality of revenge?

"What?"

Her plain amber met with the calm amethyst. Seems like she was caught for staring too long.

"Nothing." was the blue-haired young huntress firm answer, as she discarded everything that has been nagging on her mind.

**[ ]**


	6. Fluttering Petals

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Love Live!

**a/n.** This chapter is still the **non-Beta version** (for some reason I decided to upload it first), I'm sorry for my crappy English, and again sorry for the very late updates.

One thing, shout out for **Miriyoku Rio** for doing a dedication fic over bloody honeymoon! Thank you very much, I'll be sure cherish it! xD

Actually, this chapter is long, but I decided to break it into three parts. Umm, anyway, enjoy reading!

* * *

**episode:06** Fluttering Petals

* * *

Umi was in silence all the time, doing her own report of the Werewolf Assembly that occurred a while ago. Her mind is a bit out of place because she was thinking about a certain vampire with lavender orbs and white suit.

Well, not the vampire, actually, it was _an_ _indecent incident_ that she—

"Hey, Umi, do **you** hear me?" the garnet-eyed hunter slammed the desk. "I have been calling your name for ages!"

"Oh, uh, sorry, Yazawa-senpai." Umi rose from her seat right away as she faced her senior. "What is it?"

"Go gather clues with Rin in Akiba. I need to ask a few stores there for recent werewolves' activity, but I am busy with other paperwork." Nico handed a green-colored file folder to Umi.

Umi squinted her eyes at the folder, her head hung in the air. "Why me?"

"You're free now, right? There's no reason to argue with your senior, you know?" Nico patted the taller girl's shoulder. "Okay, no more question? Then I'll be going!"

She was not into werewolf business. Umi didn't hate that particular being, but as she hated vampire, she began to search everything regarding the vampire, as well as its natural enemy. Werewolf Assembly was actually a hope for her rather than a destruction of mankind—_if_ only they purely want to vanquish all vampires. She couldn't ever trust any supernatural creatures, every being is a threat to humankind.

But, as she's a part of Medea now, a job is a job and she must finish a job that had been given to her.

"Now, now ... where's this Hoshizora girl?"

* * *

"Well?" the bartender continued to wipe glasses from the counter. "Guess we didn't find any leads either this time?"

Nishikino vampire's expression darkened as she put back her tall glass. Those pack of hideous creatures really tricked her last time, as they just disappeared when chaos unfolds, leaving even no trace to track them. The tavern was closed down for renovation the incident caused, every nook and cranny of the tavern should've been cleaned by investigator hunters, there will be nothing left for her to find. Muse disappeared into thin air, and their mission was fruitless.

The bartender, noticed the expression, frowned.

"I see," she paused. "It's okay, we still have another chance."

Maki's violet orbs blinked twice, as she wondered. "You mean ...?"

"But we shouldn't rush it, don't you think? They might think that we're the one who _made_ this mess." Nozomi folded her arms. "So ... let's just ask Medea."

Maki emptied her glass as she heard what Nozomi have to comment. The redhead gave the glass to the bartender, ordering for a second shot. The emerald-eyed bartender brewed her usual share of drink quietly as Maki was deep in thought.

She is mostly, from their part, they shouldn't rush to do anything at this point, with Nishikino House already exposed to the ground. But if they don't act now, Muse will absolutely outsmart them, and vampire legacy will vanish, just as the warning letter said to them, or something that will make the remaining House exposed. There are three "role": ruler, observer, and judge; and the 'ruler' already decided to take an action first, then what will actually come to them? Will Vampire race actually perish? Will it be okay to cooperate with human's side? Will they be able to stop Muse from—

"That aside," the bartender handed over the newly brewed drink. "So ... how's Umi's, is she sweet?"

As if on cue, Maki spilled her drink. Her amethyst glared back at the bartender's emerald.

"I see, I take it that her blood is _delectable_, hmm?" Nozomi couldn't help to cover her mischievous grin.

"S-Shut up! Stop teasing me!" Maki shouted in annoyance. "How did you know that I—!?"

"Well, it's all in your face, Maki-chan." she replied, as she gave the vampire's guest a replacement drink. "I mean, your expression was obvious that you had been doing something _oh-so_ _unforgivable _that you can't help to think all day! Also, I think you can't resist _temptation_ of—"

"Nozomi! C-can't you just shut up!?"

"How did it taste?"

Nozomi crossed her arms on the counter as she asked in more serious tone. Maki was surprised by this but she couldn't actually explain what she had drank.

"It was different from all blood that I ever drank. It was sweet—I mean not exactly sweet—it's just matched my preference perfectly, and it's not too thick, not too watery either and…"

She couldn't forget the taste, it was indescribable, she never really wanted to drink more blood from the same person, let alone from the actual human source. And it was indeed sweet drops that lingered by her mouth, she wouldn't find something like that ever again. It was too precious. Yet, somehow she couldn't bring her desire to drink more being conveyed that time; she must stop, she isn't a wild vampire, she was just doing that to survive from poison inside her body, that's all. She had no intention to drink another human's blood without a concrete reason.

However, she noticed that somehow the bartender's grin only to grow wider and wider.

"You should've taken control of the situation, Maki-chan!" she encouraged. "I mean, she must be _drugged _by your ki—"

"Y-You make me sounded like some kind of pervert!" Maki grunted, both her hands slammed the counter.

Nozomi let out her laugh as she saw Maki snapped, face beet red from embarrassment. The laughing fit died down after a while as Maki helped herself with her drink, tried hard to compose herself.

"A-anyway!" Maki cleared her throat. She searched her pocket and gave Nozomi a colorless vial along with a wrapped syringe. "Here, it's your turn now."

Nozomi sighed, "You sure know how to kill the mood, Maki-chan."

"—And I have another favor."

* * *

"Thanks for accompanying me, _nya_!"

Umi gave the fellow hunter a cold shoulder as they walked through their destined places. The midnight-haired huntress held the check list of shops they needed to investigate while Rin mostly the one who asked the details. This field work was something that Umi usually never do, she was assigned to do talking with her sword, not engaging in actual conversation. They had checked many shops, ranged from usual restaurant to something fancy like clothing store, or a dubious maid cafe.

What that she can observe from the cheerful-looking hunter was her ability to communicate with other people easily and for not to ask the same question twice. However, sometimes she was most likely be seen as a simple-minded person with no real experience and even, no reason to join the Association, from her background.

"This will be next, _Printemps_ flower shop." Umi pointed at the coordinate on her PDA. "And there'll be two more."

"Alright, alright." Rin nodded energetically. "But there were not even any sign of strange activity, don't you think?"

"Maybe people were too oblivious ..." she answered half-heartedly. "I mean, Werewolf Assembly was two weeks ago, there must be any sign or else."

"Nico-chan now is too obsessed with Muse, _nya_. I was tasked to gather clues for her too." Rin whined slightly. "But nothing supernatural happen here and there."

They arrived at _Printemps_ flower shop, a small shop compared to others, with bunch of flowers in many sizes and colors being displayed. Grey-haired woman tended the flowers there at the moment.

The florist turned, "Hi! What flowers do you want to get? We have a freshly-picked white Lilies for your flower arrangement purposes!"

"Umm, sorry, we're not here to get flowers ..." said Umi coolly. "We're here to ask you about a recent supernatural activity that occurred here."

"I'm Hoshizora Rin and this is Sonoda Umi, we're from Medea Association!" the ginger-haired hunter exclaimed as she showed her ID. "We have few questions for you, Miss."

The grey-haired florist placed down her water can. "I'm Minami Kotori, the owner of _Printemps_. Pleased to meet you," she then proceeded to take off her gloves. "I'm sorry, but seems like nothing happened here in Akiba recently."

"Really? No werewolves ever came here?" Rin tilted her head. "I mean, this district was where we find many casualties of the incident."

"No, no one. Even vampires, too. Akiba sure is peaceful these days."

Umi was the one who jotted down the notes. Rin asked the florist few questions; about what she had been doing recently, her and the shop activity during the Werewolf Assembly and whether she was hurt or not by the incident, or whether she suffered property damage because of it. The _Printemps _flower shop didn't suffer from any damage, and as the owner said, nobody came there from supernatural side, as long as she could recall.

Rin hummed. "Then, how much are these?"

"—Huh?" Umi was beyond surprised, as she focused to write every information.

"Do you like this white magnolia? Of course! It's 200 yen for a bucket."

Umi's sweat dropped as Rin purchased a bucket of flower on her own.

"Then I'll have one, _nya_!"

As they excused their selves from the florist's presence, they continued their investigation, question still fresh on Umi's head.

"Why did you buy it?" she raised her brow.

The flower itself was pretty. It has a white color and small, cute appearance. But she wouldn't think that the hunter bought it because its features, or just on a whim, or an excuse for intruding the shopkeeper's time. Hoshizora Rin sure is a strange woman.

"Actually I prefer Ramen from earlier stand." Rin chuckled. "I want to explain my reason for buying this but you won't believe me, _nya_."

"H ... huh? Excuse me?"

"Next stop is 09 Vampire bar, right? I'll explain it there."

* * *

They arrived at the bar after a short walk to find the door is wide open. Inside, the purple-haired bartender was wearing a different hairstyle and attire, unlike her usual raven tux with a bowtie. Toujou Nozomi busied herself by cleaning tables while wearing a simple dress with a white apron over.

A soft tune of classic piano played over the background.

"Sorry, did we ... interrupt?" Umi politely stated.

"No, my cards said that hunters would be here but I never imagine that it is you two." Nozomi chuckled. "I take it that you guys here for information?"

Rin put her thumb up, "As sharp as always, _nya_."

Umi stole a glance at the bartender's mysterious smile and back at Rin. Guess that they already know each other, so they wouldn't need to waste any time for more introduction.

Nozomi put aside the tablecloth and tidied back the table arrangements. "Please, have a seat, Sonoda-san and Hoshizora-san." she pulled the chair. "Would you like some drinks, or perhaps a tarot reading?"

* * *

Maki frowned as she took another cigar to her mouth. It was her fifth in span of one hour, she counted from the ashtray and seems it didn't help her much. She was deep in thought for quite some time, as she dropped by her office to inform her worker to do the usual and that she ditched work to go to Medea building. She spent her time alone at the smoking room on the lobby alone, thinking by herself as her amethyst rolled over the blood vial on her palm.

"You sure are a heavy smoker,"

The blonde huntress entered the smoking room, hands full with files with different colors.

"What business that makes you call me here anyway, Eri?"

Eri scratched her cheek, "Well, I have two major questions but ... guess you need to read this first. This is a compilation of articles dated about five to two years ago, Nico found it while searching about Muse. This is classified information, I hope you understand."

Maki shut her tobacco as Eri handed the files on the table. The red 'classified' stamp covered the first page neatly. Maki opened the page to see several articles with an anonymous sender from a famous newspaper. The introductory is about vampires in general, and—

"This is ... the leakage information of Pureblood?"

"The issue was banned after two days, but I think some people get their hands on this valuable pieces." Eri turned more pages. "Here, about the characteristic of three houses, as well as the description about Pureblood Vampires. And also this."

_THE LEADER IS A CANNIBAL VAMPIRE?_—the title of article was big, much to attract Maki's attention. The article even provided with some photos, eventhough it is blurry enough to make out the appearance. She skimmed a few paragraphs as to conclude the content of the article.

"Wait a sec, this article is preposterous!" she scoffed. "This one even tells about the closed House Meetings!"

"This issue was never made it to public. Rather, it was being sold online and being distributed with higher price." Eri commented. "I don't know whether this newspaper contained truth or not."

The doctor gritted her teeth. "Who on the earth wrote this papers?"

"Guess you'll be angry to know that it has Muse stamp on it every time," Eri grunted. "Don't you think that they have been tailing you since ages?"

* * *

"I can't say that I didn't know anything, right?" Nozomi let out small chuckle. "Yes, but I don't know much, and about Muse, too."

"Aww, and Rin hopes that you know something," the huntress whined. "But yeah, okay then, moving on ..."

Nozomi only served them plain water, since Umi didn't seem to believe that she can brew drinks for human ("I don't want to drink anything similar like vampires." she said). Rin repeated the question about how the condition there lately, and inquired about Muse and werewolves. Umi didn't bother to interrupt the way Rin interrogated Nozomi, or adding any details or question, as Nozomi looked like a type that will never answer much. She _might_ hide something, but it's not the perfect time to pursue it as per right now.

Rin opened the flower bucket she purchased earlier in front of them, a freshly-picked and neatly-arranged white magnolia.

"My, what a nice bucket," Nozomi pried. "White magnolia, that's a cute flower that seem unfit for you, Hoshizora-san."

"... I'm kinda hurt, nya," she laughed. "Do you love flowers, too, Nozomi-chan?"

"Well, it's not like I love them, but ... one or two seems nice to see," she replied. "However, quite a mismatch if you place it in this bar."

Umi furrowed her brow, "What about these flowers again, Hoshizora?"

Rin's smile slowly dissipated into a more serious, flat expression. "Nozomi-chan, you're a vampire, right?" she picked one flower. "Then you must recognize what else this flower smell aside the fragrance, nee?"

Umi was stunned by the direction of the conversation, while Nozomi's expression shifted.

"How can you know that it reek of vampire's smell, Hoshizora-san?"

**[ ]**


End file.
